Children and Diabetes

Please note that this section contains my personal notes from my readings on this topic.

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Data from a multicountry analysis of cow’s milk consumption showed a strong correlation between milk consumption in children and the incidence of childhood-onset (Type 1) diabetes. As the consumption of cow’s milk increased in a country, so did the incidence of childhood-onset diabetes. Many researchers in this field believe the causality of this disease is related to the consumption of cow’s milk proteins early in life, before the digestive tract has fully matured.

The theory implicating cow’s milk as a contributory factor in the causation of Type 1 diabetes is that susceptible children produce antibodies to cow’s milk proteins and these antibodies cross-react and destroy the beta cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. Multiple studies hae demonstrated that children with insulin-dependent diabetes have higher levels of cow’s milk protein antibodies. It is theorized that a viral illness may trigger this increased immune system response in milk-drinking kids.

An important point in this cow’s milk and diabetes link is that children given cow’s milk-based formula in the first three months of life were found to be 52% more likely to develop the disease than those not consuming cow’s milk proteins. Even though exposure to cow’s milk proteins during infancy greatly increases the risk of diabetes, drinking large amounts of cow’s milk after infancy has also been show to increase risk. Lack of breast-feeding and exposure to other food proteins too early, such as eggs or wheat, could also be contributory. Coming on the heels of a meta-analysis of twenty other studies that reached the same conclusion, researchers such as Hans-Michael Dosch, M.D., professor of pediatrics and immunology at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto stated, “the suspected link is now very solid.”

Early introduction of cow’s milk increases the chance of developing childhood diabetes and can promote that early-in-life growth spurt linked to later life cancers. Your child does not need cow’s milk to be healthy, but if used at all, it is very important not to start it before the age of eighteen months. I strongly recommend that cow’s milk NOT be utilized as the exclusive drink of babies and toddlers. If you choose to use cow’s milk, have the child use an assortment of healthy drinks, utilizing soy, nut, and cow’s or goat’s milk, so that an overdependency on cow’s milk is prevented and more nutritional diversity is fostered.

“An important point in this cow’s milk and diabetes link is that children given cow’s milk-based formula in the first three months of life were found to be 52% more likely to develop the disease than those not consuming milk proteins. Even though exposure to cow’s milk proteins during infancy greatly increases the risk of diabetes, drinking large amounts of cow’s milk after infancy has also been shown to increase risk. Lack of breast-feeding and exposure to other food proteins too early, such as eggs or wheat could also be contributory. Coming on the heels of a metaanalysis of twenty other studies that reached the same conclusion, researchers such as Hans-Michael Dosch, M.D., professor of pediatrics and immunology at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, stated, “the suspected link is now very solid.” “

Type 1 Diabetes
“This devastating, incurable disease strikes children, creating a painful and difficult experience for young families. What most people don’t know, though, is that there is strong evidence that this disease is linked to diet and, more specifically, to dairy products. The ability of cow’s milk protein to initiate Type 1 diabetes is well documented. ”

“Cow’s milk consumption by children zero to fourteen years of age in twelve countries shows an almost perfect correlation with Type 1 diabetes. The greater the consumption of cow’s milk, the greater the prevalence of Type 1 diabetes. In Finland, Type 1 diabetes is thirty-six times more common than in Japan. Large amounts of cow’s milk products are consumed in Finland but very little is consumed in Japan.”

“It seems to me that we now have impressive evidence showing that cow’s milk is likely to be an important cause of Type 1 diabetes… Children weaned too early and fed cow’s milk have, on average, a 50-60% higher risk of Type 1 diabetes (1.5 – 1.6 times increased risk).”

“Because this issue has mammoth financial implications for American agriculture, and because so many people have such intense personal biases against it, it is unlikely that this diabetes research will reach the American media anytime soon. However, the depth and breadth of evidence now implicating cow’s milk as a cause of Type 1 diabetes is overwhelming, even though the very complex mechanistic details are not yet fully understood… Human breast milk is the perfect food for an infant, and one of the most damaging things a mother can do is to substitute the milk of a cow for her own.”

Recently the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a prediction: “Type 2 diabetes, once believed to affect only adults, is being increasingly diagnosed among young people. Unless American families change the way they eat and live, 1 in 3 children will eventually get diabetes.”

– The NDD Book: How Nutrition Deficit Disorder Affects Your Child’s Learning, Behavior, and Health, and What You Can Do About It — Without Drugs by William Sears, MD; 2009; page 7